thebutterfly

Join Date 05/2007

"AI takes it easy BUG" in Metaleague game

Hi I just played a game on CRIPPLING/Small galaxy 7 opponents and after the first few terms (after I reloaded the game maybe) the AI just stopped doing anything. It made a few buildings and even conquered one ressource (in 7 years!) but even the Drengin just sat and watch my transports zoom in without ever building one single armed unit. I had two Defenders (Beam+1 each) and they were enough to clear out any resistance in the whole galaxy. And I was not rushing!
I hope the game will be back to its old self because it was so boring when the AI goes vegetable!

Is this because I installed the German language pack? Or why?

PS: I also had an invasion that ended withut any survivors on both sides (the computer kept his world) - but that was after the game went weird.

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For the Metaverse people: This game is not supposed to count as anything - it was weird from the start.

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KzintiPatriarch

Join Date 05/2007

+95

Sounds like the CTRL-N bug. If you use that a lot, there is a chance the AI will be reset to "fool", and will act accordingly....doing almost nothing.

Sentient species taste better...

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Could be.

Never heard of it.

I wasn't really playing but only playing around to find a good way to coordinate settling and the Techtree. I CTRL-nned my experiments after 1 year all day until the computer's strange behavior motivated me to go on.

Thanks!

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Sounds like the CTRL-N bug. If you use that a lot, there is a chance the AI will be reset to "fool", and will act accordingly....doing almost nothing.

Oh man, the CTRL-Ners!!! In real life, you can't just hit CTRL-N if you end up paralyzed a drug addict etc. Take some pride and play to the end without CTRL-N!! Play with the hand you have been dealt!

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"Oh man, the CTRL-Ners!!! In real life, you can't just hit CTRL-N if you end up paralyzed a drug addict etc. Take some pride and play to the end without CTRL-N!! Play with the hand you have been dealt!"

This was never about playing a full game but about practicing different routes of development. If you want real life don't spend your time on the Internet.

ever heart of a sportsman, or a musician who doesn't practice parts of a piece of a race or a piece of music. Do you think Kasparow never practices opening moves for a chess game?
If I played on your level, which is "challenging" at best, I wouldn't need any practice either.

Well if you know so much, which are the first 5 techs you would develop on a small map with 7 opponents with tech trading turned of, provided you're starting as the Altarians. That is a challenging question, is it not?

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Personally I would probably go up to xeno economics and then head up the Diplo tree to the interstellar republic

Go Economy!

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Voqar

Join Date 03/2003

+21

Sounds like the CTRL-N bug. If you use that a lot, there is a chance the AI will be reset to "fool", and will act accordingly....doing almost nothing.

Or you could just not worry about how other people play a game, since it's not real life. Personally, I take pride in what I do in reality, not in some video game.

It'd be nice if this bug was fixed since it's been around for a long, long time and has been reported many, many times. :-/

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I've CTRL-Ned in real life on several occasions. Sometimes, you actually do get a do-over.

The option makes sense if you're playing in a league or tournament, to some extent. It levels the playing field.

I also don't submit my defeats. Well, I have, but very rarely.

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Well if you know so much, which are the first 5 techs you would develop on a small map with 7 opponents with tech trading turned of, provided you're starting as the Altarians. That is a challenging question, is it not?

Enlighten me. What are those 5 techs? You have taken the time to matematically figure the cost, benefit analysis of every possible combination for the first 5 techs for all races? With that dedication, you might as well help us get a cure for cancer or be the next Thomas Edison.

I am not implying I am better than you guys. Far from it. I am just saying why not play every game through to the conclusion as practice? Is this game ever impossible simply because you start in a bad position? If you start in a bad position, you just have to think harder, be more careful, etc. to win. I would like to think that this game, even on suicidal, is winnable in any starting scenario.

Or is everyone playing on suicidal forced to CTRL-N like crazy until they get a good starting position?

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Mumblefratz

Join Date 07/2006

+139

Or is everyone playing on suicidal forced to CTRL-N like crazy until they get a good starting position?

I think the answer is no but I also think that using ctrl-n isn't the end of the world either.

I hear where you're coming from, the idea of "play it as it lies" is a legitimate one but on the other hand these games can take quite some time and I can understand the use of an occasional ctrl-n to avoid an apparently hopeless situation.

The other aspect of using ctrl-n is that it often takes a very short sighted view of what constitutes a "good" starting position. I do think that people that use ctrl-n often focus only on home planet bonuses. In this case their use of ctrl-n may lose them some otherwise very good starting positions. Who knows what wealth of mining resources or perhaps a PQ32 or two that may be waiting just at the edge of the fog of war. Using ctrl-n because you didn't get a 300% manufacturing or research bonus tile may perhaps cost you more than you actually gain.

Certainly the point that thebutterfly brings up where one is using ctrl-n to study specific situations is the most legitimate use of ctrl-n that I can think of.

One suggestion for people using ctrl-n is that it really only saves a couple of mouse clicks. If instead of using ctrl-n you simply go to the main menu and start a new game it really doesn't take any longer than ctrl-n and it certainly avoids the drooling AI's.

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Mumblefratz

Join Date 07/2006

+139

Opps. double post.

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I'm a Ctrl-N'er and not ashamed to admit it. Sometimes the start is so bad, it's just a waste of my time to play that game because I know I'll lose. So, I play on the difficulty that challenges me with a good start and throw away the bad ones. For people that play bad starts, good for you. If you can win at a high difficulty with a bad start, you're a better player than me. My feeling is that if the game developers had intended you to play the start you were given, there would be no random factors involved and no Ctrl-N. Besides, it's actually pretty fun rolling the dice for the start you want. I don't think there's any shame in it.

I think I did encounter the drooling AI bug once. I bailed on that game after wondering why the AI weren't doing anything. I'll try re-starting from the main menu instead. Thanks Mumblefratz.

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The first 5 techs I took was Planetary Improvement, plus the first in economics,
Universal Translator, Diplomacy and Trade - the first 2 because of the bonus, the other three so I could trade Trade for everything I needed. Diplomacy also helps because of the translators and an economy capital on your main planet (=population center) helps.

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